Border Agents Stop Driver Attempting To Smuggle Enough Fentanyl To Kill Around 2 Million People

Border Agents Stop Driver Attempting To Smuggle Enough Fentanyl To Kill Around 2 Million People

Jennie Taer on June 23, 2022

Border Patrol agents in California on Monday seized enough fentanyl to kill over 2 million people.

Agents in the El Centro border sector searched the vehicle at a highway checkpoint, where they found six black packages wrapped in cellophane hidden inside the car’s dashboard and air vents, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said Wednesday. The male driver, 53, and the female passenger, 27, in the car were both from Mexico and didn’t have the proper documents to be in the U.S.

The seizure included 4.2 kilograms of fentanyl and 2.1 kilograms of heroin, according to CBP. Using the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) own metric that 1 kilogram of fentanyl could kill 500,000 people, the fentanyl seized has the potential to kill around 2.1 million people.

Together, the drugs had an estimated street value of $189,200, according to CBP.

“Cross-border trafficking of fentanyl kills thousands of American citizens each year, and I am proud of our Indio Agents for their efforts in countering those who are bringing harmful drugs into the United States,” Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino said in a statement.

In a separate event, CBP officers recently seized enough fentanyl to kill over 12 million people at the Calexico West Port of Entry. The seizure weighed 54.85 pounds and had an estimated street value of $658,200.

CBP didn’t respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. The DEA, which received the driver, passenger, vehicle and narcotics, declined to comment when reached for comment by TheDCNF.